Hatch cover structure



y 1966 J L- CARNEY, JR, ETAL 3,250,233

HATCH COVER STRUCTURE 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 31, 1964 INVENTORS JOHN L. CARNEY JR. RQLF MOWATT-LARSSEN AGENT y 1966 J. 1.. CARNEY, JR., ETAL 3,250,233

HATCH COVER STRUCTURE 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 31, 1964 May 10, 1966 J. L. CARNEY, JR., ETAL 3,250,233

HATCH COVER STRUCTURE 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Jan. $51, 1964 N wI y 1955 .1. 1.. CARNEY, JR. ETAL 3,250,233

HATCH COVER STRUCTURE 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Jan. 31, 1964 vm wm 6G Q Q8 35% s & ms

United States Patent 3,250,233 HATCH COVER STRUCTURE John L. Carney, Jr., St. Louis, and Rolf Mowatt-Larssen,

Bridgeton, Mo., assignors to ACF Industries, Incorporated, New York, N.Y., a corporation of New Jersey Filed Jan. 31, 1964, Ser. No. 341,562 3 Claims. (Cl. 105-377) This invention relates to hatch cover structures for railway cars and more particularly to an elongate hatch cover structure extending longitudinally along the roof of a railway car.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a hatch cover structure having an elongate hatch cover which may be opened and closed with a relatively small lifting force from either end of the cover without any binding between the hatch cover and adjacent hatch fitting.

An additional object of the present invention is the provision of such a hatch cover structure in which an elongate hatch cover fits tightly against an adjacent hatch fitting without the necessity of a gasket between the hatch cover and hatch fitting.

Another object is to provide such a hatch cover structure for a relatively large elongate roof opening so that the car may be loaded in a minimum of time with substantially the entire cubic capacity of the car being utilized. 7

In general, the above objects are attained by providing a hatch cover structure for a railway car in which an elongate hatch cover is carried by a plurality of arms extending across the hatch cover and mounted for pivotal movement between open and closed positions over a hatch opening in the roof of a railway car, anda plurality of ribs extend generally longitudinally along the cover to strengthen or reinforce the cover against bending or flexure when the cover is lifted from an end thereof and the arms are pivoted. To assist opening of the hatch cover, a resilient counterbalance may be provided to bias the hatch cover to an open position whereby upon release of the hold down means for the hatch cover at least a portion of the weight of the cover is counterbalanced by the resilient counterbalance means. Upon closing of the cover the counterbalance means is loaded or cocked upon downward pressure being applied against the cover when the cover is moved to closed position from open position.

The invention accordingly comprises the constructions hereinafter described, the scope of the invention being indicated in the following claims.

In the accompanying drawings, in which one of several possible embodiments of the invention is illustrated,

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a railway car having a plurality of batch cover structures of this invention mounted thereon;

FIGURE 2 is a plan view of a hatch cover structure of FIGURE 1 shown in closed position, the open position thereof being indicated by broken lines;

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view taken generally along line 3-3 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary plan showing the counterbalance means for assisting the hatch cover of FIGURE 1 in moving from open and closed positions;

FIGURE 5 is a side elevation of the counterbalance means shown in FIGURE 4;

FIGURE 6 is a sectional view taken generally along line 66 of FIGURE 4; and

FIGURE 7 is a sectional view taken generally along line 7-7 of FIGURE 2.

Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings.

Referring to FIGURE 1, a railway car is indicated generally at 10 and includes wheel trucks 12 at each end thereof. Hopper side sheets 13 of railway car 1 terminate in a roof 14. A plurality of openings 16 are spaced along the length of roof 14. Extending around each hatch opening 16 is an elongate hatch fitting 18 projecting upwardly from roof 14 and having a down-turned outer flange 20 (see FIGURES 3 and 6). Longitudinally extending running boards 22 and 23 are supported by vertical struts 24 extending between the platform and roof 14 with a longitudinally extending support 26 supporting the outermost struts 24. End or transverse running boards 30 extend between running boards 22 and 23. While three hatch openings 16 have been illustrated in FIG- URE 1, it is to be understood any desired number of batch openings may be provided along roof 14.

Referring to FIGURES 2 and 3, a single hatch opening 16 is indicated having an elongated hatch cover generally designated 34 mounted over the opening. Cover 34 is corrugated to form longitudinal extending ribs 36 for strengthening the hatch cover against bending and fiexure. Spaced along the length of cover 34 over ribs 36 are stiffeners 38 extending transversely of the railway car and secured, such as by spot welding, to ribs 36. Mounted over each stiffener 38 as illustrated in FIGURE 3 is an arm 40 extending across cover 34. Mounted between each arm 40 and adjacent stiffener 38 is a spacer or force transmitting block 42 which spans a pair of intermediate ribs 36. Spacer 42 is secured, such as by welding, to stiffener 38 but is not secured to arm 40. Securing each arm 40 to spacer 42 is a bolt 43 extending through stilfener 38, spacer 42 and arm 40. The head of bolt or stud 43 which is spaced from cover 34 fits against the underside of stilfener 38 and a nut 44 fits on the other end of bolt 43 adjacent a washer 45 on the upper surface of arm 40. Arm 40 has an elongate slot 46 receiving bolt 43 to permit a slight transverse movement of cover 42 relative to arm 40.

The free end of each arm 40 has an open slot 47. Pivotally mounted at 48 is a swing bolt 50 adapted to fit within slot 47 and having a yoke fitting over projection 49 on roof 14. A handwheel 52 threadedly engages bolt 50 and when screwed down tight against arm 40 holds the cover in a tight closed position.

Welded to each stiffener 38 is a stud 54 extending from the stiifener through an elongate slot 55 in the associated arm 40. A nut 56 on stud 54 normally bears against a washer on the upper surface of arm 40. Arm 40 may move downwardly on stud 54 relative to nut 56 and upon tightening of handwheel 52 when hatch cover 34 is in closed position arm 40 will be pulled downwardly out of contact with nut 56. Upon loosening of handwheel 52 and swinging of bolt 50 away from arm 40, nut 56 is again engaged by the arm.

Elongate slots 46 and 55 permit a relatively small transverse movement of cover 34 relative toarms 40, such as, for example, a movement of A3 in each direction. By permitting relative movement between arms 40 and cover 34 an improved seating of hatch cover 34 on hatch fitting 18 is obtained, such as might be desirable if the hatch cover is slightly canted.

Hatch cover 34 of a width of around 24 inches may preferably be formed with a positive transverse camber of around A inch and upon tightening of handwheels 52 a relatively tight seal is eifected between hatch fitting 18 and batch cover 34 without a gasket, hatch fitting 18 engaging the underside of hatch cover 34 in tight relation. To permit opening of cover 34 from the ends thereof, a hand hold 58 is mounted adjacent each end of the cover and the cover may be easily lifted from either of its ends.

Each arm 40 has a sleeve 60 formed on the end thereof opposite slot 47. Secured to roof 14 adjacent each sleeve 60 is a plate 61 having spaced projections 62 thereon. A stop 63 on each plate 61 is adapted to support the adjacent arm 40 upon movement of hatch cover 34 to the broken line indication of FIGURE 3. This prevents cover 34 from contacting running board 23 and possibly damaging the running board. Sleeves 68 on end arms 40 fit around shafts 64 (FIGURES 2 and 7) supported on projections 62 and are mounted for free rotative movement. Sleeve 60 on intermediate arm 44 fits around shaft 66 supported on project-ions 62 with bolts 68 fixing shaft 66 for rotation with sleeve 60 as shown in FIGURES 4 and 5.

Referring to FIGURES 4-7 and constituting an important feature of this invention is a counterbalance means operatively connected to intermediate arm 40 for aiding in the opening and closing of hatch cover 34. Intermediate shaft 66 has a hub 72 on one end thereof and a washer I 74 between hub 72 and projections 62. Shaft 66 is thus held against longitudinal movement to the right as viewed in FIGURES 4 and 5. The other opposite end of shaft 66 is slotted at 76 and a torsion bar generally designated 78 is received within slot 76. Bolts 80 extend through shaft 66 and torsion bar 78 to hold the torsion bar in position for movement and rotation with shaft 66.

Extending from a mounting plate 82 on roof 14 are spaced extensions 84. Fitting between extension 84 is the other opposite end of torsion bar 78. Extensions 84 are slotted at 86 and a bolt 88 is received within slots 86 to hold torsion bar 78 fixed against rotative movement relative to extensions 84. Since the twisting of torsion bar 78 on the opening and closing of cover 34 results in a varying length of the torsion bar, slot 86 permits bolt 88 and closing a hatch cover of around 13 feet in length, torsion bar 78may be around 29 inches in length. For a hatch cover of around /2 feet in length, a torsion bar of around 26 inches in length has'been found to operate effectively. Each ply 90 may be of a thickness of /8 inch and a width of 2 /2 inches. If it is desired to increase the stiffness of torsion bar 78, two or more of the plies may be removed and a single ply substituted therefor.

For opening cover 34 after handwheels 52 have been loosened and swing bolts 50 swung downwardly, hand hold 58 at either end of cover 34 may be gripped to lift the cover. As torsion bar 78 is twisted 90 relative to its longitudinal axis in the closed position of cover 34, the cover is biased toward an open position by torsion bar 78. Upon cover 34 reaching the vertical position, torsion bar 78 does not exert any force on the cover. However, the weight of cover 34 is such as to effect movement of the cover to the broken line position on stops 63 as shown in FIGURES 2 and 3. Torsion bar 78 resists the downward swinging of cover 34 and breaks the fall of the cover against walkway 23 as torsion bar 78 and shaft 66 rotate with the movement of cover 34. As cover 34 has longitudinal ribs 36 only a relatively small flexure or bending of cover 34 about its longitudinal axis results from the opening of the cover from one end thereof. Further, the force of torsion bar 78 is exerted along only one arm which is spaced centrally of the length -of the cover and thereby does not' exert any canting or binding force against the cover.

Upon movement of the cover from open position to closed position, torsion bar 78 biases cover 34 to a vertical position and then breaks the fall of cover 34 as the weight of. the cover causes it to move toward closed posit-ion in tight fitting relation with hatch fitting 18.' When the cover is closed, swing bolts 50 are swung in slots 47 and handwheels 52 are tightened to move arms 40 downwvardly relative to studs 54. Hatch cover 34 tightly fits objects of the invention are achieved and other advantageous results obtained.

As various changes could be made in the above construction without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

What is claimed is:

1. In a railway hopper car having a roof with at least one elongate hatch opening extending therethrough, a hatch fitting extending about said opening and projecting upwardly from the roof, a relatively flexible elongate hatch cover for the hatch opening mounted over the hatch fitting for movement between open and closed positions relative to the hatch opening and having a plurality of upwardly projecting, generally parallel ribs extending longitudinally for substantially the entire length of the elongate hatch cover, a pair of spaced, parallel stiffeners extending transversely of the cover across the upper surfaces of the ribs and secured thereto, an arm over each transverse stiffener in vertical alignment therewith and pivotally mounted on the roof for movement between open and closed positions, a spacer between each armand the associated transverse stiffener'contacting the associated stiffener generally centrally of the width of the hatch cover and spanning at least a pair of ribs but terminating short of the hatch fitting when the cover is closed, means connecting each spacer and associated stiffener to the adjacent arm and permitting a limited movement of the hatch cover relative to the arm in a direction transversely of the hatch cover to facilitate seating of the hatch cover on tthe hatch fitting, the cover being pressed downwardly against the hatch fitting when in closed position by the arms and associated spacers along an area over the hatch opening to obtain a relatively tight fit against the hatch fitting, and means to releasably hold the cover over the hatch opening in the closed position thereof.

2. In a railway hopper car as set forth in claim 1, a shaft mounted on said roof adjacent an end of one arm, a sleeve on said one arm fitting around said shaft and secured thereto for rotative movement with the shaft, the longitudinal axis of said shaft extending in a direction generally longitudinally of the car and having one end formed with an open slot, and counterbalance means connected to said one arm to bias the hatch cover away from the opening toward open position, said counterbalance means comprising a torsion bar having one end fitting within said slot and secured to the shaft for rotative and longitudinal movements therewith, the other end of said torsion bar being held against rotation and said torsion bar being arranged to bias the hatch cover toward open position.

3. In a railway hopper car having a roof with at least one elongate hatch opening extending therethrough, .a hatch fitting extending about said opening and projecting upwardly from the roof,-a relatively flexible elongate hatch cover for the hatch opening mounted over'the hatch fitting and having a plurality of generally longitudinally extending ribs, at least two transverse stilfeners extending across the upper surfaces of the ribs and secured thereto, a pair of spaced studs secured to each stiffener and extending upwardly therefrom in the closed position of the hatch cover, one of said studs positioned centrally of the width of said hatch cover and the other stud positioned adjacent a side of said elongate hatch cover, an

arm pivotally mounted on the roof adjacent each stiffener and extending over the adjacent stiffener across the entire width of the hatch cover, a spacer between each arm and the associated stiffener contacting the stitfener generally centrally of the Width of the hatch cover to transmit a closing force from the arm to the stiflener, each of said 1 arms having elongate openings receiving the studs on the adjacent stiffener and being connected to the studs for carrying the hatch cover, said arms being free to move slightly relative to the stifieners in a direction transversely of the hatch cover thereby to permit the hatch cover to be easily seated on the hatch fitting, means mounting the arms and hatch cover for pivotal movement between open and closed positions relative to the hatch opening, and means to secure the free ends of said arms for holding the hatch cover in closed position.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS Gleason.

Hills.

Stone 105-377 Bonsall 105377 Chesterman 22057 Brown 220-57 Wily 22057 Floehr.

Jurs et a1. 22057 Hamilton 105-377 Carney 105---377 15 ARTHUR L. LA POINT, Primary Examiner.

DRAYTON E. HOFFMAN, Examiner. 

1. IN A RAILWAY HOPPER CAR HAVING A ROOF WITH AT LEAST ONE ELONGATE HATCH OPENING THERETHROUGH, A HATCH FITTING EXTENDING ABOUT SAID OPENING AND PROJECTING UPWARDLY FROM THE ROOF, A RELATIVELY FLEXIBLE ELONGATE HATCH COVER FOR THE HATCH OPENING MOUNTED OVER THE HATCH FITTING FOR MOVEMENT BETWEEN OPEN AND CLOSED POSITIONS RELATIVE TO THE HATCH OPENING AND HAVING A PLURALITY OF UPWARDLY PROJECTING, GENERALLY PARALLEL RIBS EXTENDING LONGITUDINALLY FOR SUBSTANTIALLY THE ENTIRE LENGTH OF THE ELONGATE HATCH COVER, A PAIR OF SPACED, PARALLEL STIFFENERS EXTENDING TRANSVERSELY OF THE COVER ACROSS THE UPPER SURFACES OF THE RIBS AND SECURED THERETO, AN ARM OVER EACH TRANSVERSE STIFFENER IN VERTICAL ALIGNMENT THEREWITH AND PIVOTALLY MOUNTED ON THE ROOF FOR MOVEMENT BETWEEN OPEN AND CLOSED POSITIONS, A SPACER BETWEEN EACH ARM AND THE ASSOCIATED TRANSVERSE STIFFENER CONTACTING THE ASSOCIATED STIFFENER GENERALLY CENTRALLY OF THE WIDTH OF THE HATCH COVER AND SPANNING AT LEAST A PAIR OF RIBS BUT TERMINATING SHORT OF THE HATCH FITTING WHEN THE COVER IS CLOSED, MEANS CONNECTING EACH SPACER AND ASSOCIATED STIFFENER TO THE ADJACENT ARM AND PERMITTING A LIMITED MOVEMENT OF THE HATCH COVER RELATIVE TO THE ARM IN A DIRECTION TRANSVERSELY OF THE HATCH COVER TO FACILITATE SEATING OF THE HATCH COVER ON THE HATCH FITTING, THE COVER BEING PRESSED DOWNWARDLY AGAINST THE HATCH FITTING WHEN IN CLOSED POSITION BY THE ARMS AND ASSOCIATED SPACERS ALONG AN AREA OVER THE HATCH OPENING TO OBTAIN A RELATIVELY TIGHT FIT AGAINST THE HATCH FITTING, AND MEANS RELEASABLY HOLD THE COVER OVER THE HATCH OPENING IN THE CLOSED POSITION THEREOF. 